


The Girl That Couldn't Get Away

by Tamasha



Category: New Girl
Genre: Angst, Dating, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kissing, Love, One Shot, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three short episode fix-its, outlining Nick and Jess's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Girl That Couldn't Get Away

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

Jess sat across from Nick, on the other side of the brown leather couch. She was in another ridiculously adorable sundress, and Nick wasn’t sure he could sit here any longer looking at her.

“I’m going to bed,” he mumbled and began to make his way down the hallway.

“Yeah, goodnight,” she called after him. “I’m going to go to bed too…” she said, clearly nervous.

It had been almost a week since Nick had made the mistake of kissing her. It didn’t feel like a mistake, but the circumstances surrounding it certainly made it seem that way. Not only did she have a boyfriend at the time, but she was also his roommate. Situations like these were becoming increasingly abundant.

They awkwardly met in the hall before they parted ways into their separate bedrooms. Nick wanted to rush over and kiss her again, but she wouldn’t accept it. She wouldn’t feel the same way he felt. She never would. How could she look at him the way he knew he looked at her? He was a 30 year old bar-tender. What could she possibly see in him?

But despite all this, her large blue eyes dared him to make another move. Nick just stood stupidly in the hallway looking back at her. He was never good at taking chances, and the one time he did with her, it had been a mistake.

He frowned at her. “Good night, Jess.” Without waiting for a response, he walked into his room and let the door close behind him. He fell back onto the door and closed his eyes, sighing. It took all his willpower not to open that door again, just to see if she was still standing there.

It was time to forget about Jess.

“Nick?” He heard her soft voice from behind the door. He replaced his smile with an irritated look before opening the door.

His hoodie was over his head, and he crossed his arms. “What is is, Jess?” Every defense was up.

She looked hurt, but Nick was probably reading her wrong. “Do you have some, um… extra toothpaste?”

“In the cabinet, in the bathroom. Where it always is, Jess.” He couldn’t stop saying her name. “It’s… it’s in the bathroom.” Nick lingered at the door, but she made no movement towards the bathroom.

“Thanks.” She nodded. “I’ll just go… I’ll go get that.”

As she walked down the hall, Nick could feel his self-loathing rise. How could he let her walk away? She was perfect. She was Jess.

“Wait!” he heard himself call out. What was he doing?

“Yes?” she said from halfway down the hall, so Nick had to walk to meet her.

He was so close to her now, he could smell her perfume. “It wasn’t a mistake.” Nick blurted out. “I lied.”

“You lied?” Her perfect nose was pointed directly at Nick. “So the kiss did mean something to you?”

His first response was to tell her he was kidding, to lie again. But not this time. He wanted her and maybe it was time to finally take a chance on something. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long, Jess.”

Her smile was the only response he needed before he pulled her in and kissed her.

 

~~~~~ 

 

The only way to describe her relationship with Nick was blissful. The phrase “blissfully unaware” was an understatement. She didn’t know how she could be so happy with him, so in love, and still know it was all a mistake. They wanted different things. They were two very different people. Yet, every day she woke up even more in love with him.

Sometimes she remembered her father’s harsh words. He’s not good enough for my baby girl. She wanted to forget her father’s concerns, but there were times when she could not silence them. Like now.

“Just save the money or pay off the bills!” Jess threw down the stack of overdue parking tickets she held in her hand. Only several of Nick’s many unpaid debts.

Nick let out a deep breath he had been holding in. “Jess,” he spoke softly. “I’m sorry, but this is me.” He shrugged and began to walk out of the room.

Jess could feel herself forgiving him; she knew she couldn’t change him. Terrible money habits and all, Jess loved him. Of course he wasn’t perfect, but Jess knew this when she started dating him. Her feelings knew nothing about stable careers and frivolous things like bills. Everything in her told her she loved him, but he still was there: less-than-perfect.

“Wait, Nick. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone through your stuff.” She began to stack up the bills and put them back in the shoe box he kept them in. She could hear her father telling her this was a mistake, but those were her father’s concerns, not her own.

He helped her put the rest of the envelopes back in the box, then took them over to the closet. “I do still have some of the money my father left me. It’s not much, but I think I could pay off some of the bills.” He turned and looked at her apologetically. “I do want to try harder, Jess. I just wanted to know you had a little faith in me.”

She quickly crossed the room to where he stood. “Nick Miller, I love you, all of you.” She let her smile show her feelings and took his hands from his pockets. Jess interlaced her fingers in his. “Only do it if you really want to.”

“I do, Jess,” he said reflexively. “I’d do anything for you.”

Satisfied, Jess let her worries fade. He may not be the perfect man her father expected him to be, but Nick was perfect for her. The love she felt overpowered the flaws, and she couldn’t think about her concerns when things still felt so right.

 

~~~~~

 

It had been a week since Jess and Nick broke up. Being in the loft with her was uncomfortable, but Nick found he still enjoyed seeing her. He didn’t want to give her up, not yet, not if he didn’t have to. Her proximity kept him composed through the break-up.

His laptop was warm on his lap and Craigslist had few viable job options for him. He began to remember why he always felt like such a loser. He was one. He closed his laptop and decided to get another beer. Maybe he didn’t need another, but coping with the break-up was becoming harder than he had imagined.

As Nick’s eyes adjusted to the harsh lights of the kitchen, he realized Jess was making herself some eggs. “Making some eggy-eggs?” Nick immediately felt foolish, regretting his terrible joke. All he could do was act idiotic around her. The best way for Nick to hide how he really felt was to pretend like he was okay.

“That’s… yup. I’m making eggs, Nick,” she said, much harsher than she probably intended. They both had been so cold lately.

Nick pulled his hoodie over his head and moved towards the fridge. Passing her, he could smell her familiar perfume. He took a sharp breath inward, pushing the memory away. “Excuse, me,” he said, more pitiful than he had meant to.

The fridge door closed, revealing a waiting Jess behind it. She looked like she was about to say something, but she remained silent. Her hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head. She wore the pink pajama set that Nick had always hated. Looking at them now, he loved those damn pajamas. He loved everything about her.

“I’m still in love with you,” he heard himself say. He bit his lip, too late, after the words had already slipped out.

Jess pushed her chin forward, eyes bugging out. “Excuse me, what?”

Nick froze. He was not prepared for this. “Nope. What?” He took a few clumsy steps backwards.

“Do you really feel that way?” Jess could always tell when he was lying; he was never good at hiding things, especially from her.

Nick gave in, shrugging his shoulders. “What the hell, Jess. Yes. Yes I am. And it’s awkward. It’s weird seeing you everyday. It’s weird living with you. And it’s really weird that you are doing so well with the break-up.”

Jess’ eyebrows furrowed. “I am not doing okay, Nick. I’m crying every moment I am alone.” Her face softened, she looked pained. “I miss you Nick, and you live across the hall.” She slumped her shoulders. “What am I supposed to do with that? I can’t talk to my best friend anymore. And I need him now more than ever…”

Nick watched her speak and fought hard against his urge to kiss her. “I’m right here, Jess.” He couldn’t hold her gaze any longer and he looked down at the floor. “Nothing has changed.”

“I just…” She stepped closer to him and bent down slightly to look up at him. “It’s hard.”

She peered at him through her bangs and Nick couldn’t decipher what was happening in this moment. They had decided, together, that they didn’t work as a couple, but he still loved her, and she still loved him. How was he supposed to just ignore his feelings for her when they were staring him in the face?

“Jess, what are you doing?” His eyes fell back on the ground. He wasn’t going to kiss her, not unless he was sure she felt the break-up was a mistake too. Her friendship was too valuable, and if that’s all he could get, he wasn’t going to mess that up by trying to win her back.

“Sorry.” She went back to the stove to tend to her burning eggs.

Nick already knew it was a mistake before he spoke, but he knew they were both thinking it. “We shouldn’t have broken up.” That was twice now. Two stupid comments that had potential to ruin any chance of being friends with Jess. He could lose her completely now.

She turned off the stove and moved the eggs to a cool burner. The bun on her head shifted slightly as she turned to face him. “What did you say, Nick?”

“You heard me.” It was all or nothing now, he couldn’t back out.

She let out a soft giggle. The kind she made when she was making fun of someone. Oddly enough, it was also the laugh she would give Nick when ever she thought something he said was cute. Nick loved that laugh. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for a week.”

Jess jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Nick’s arms moved slowly down her back as he pulled her in closely. They may have learned that they didn’t have the same plans for the future. They may have discovered that they wanted different things. But one thing was true: neither were ready to give up. Not yet. He held her close and decided he would never stop trying for Jess. He would do anything for her.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Finally a fic that isn’t Merlin! I know. So I'm going to be honest, this was written a long time ago while I was binge watching this show on Netflix. I can't, for the life of me, remember which three episodes these scenes go with. I am also way too lazy to look it up. I mostly wanted to post this to see if it was any good. I came across it and still liked it for the most part. I hope you enjoyed it.


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